Whalen says becoming coach and being a Gopher again “is a dream come true.”

As Gophers coach, Whalen will continue to play for the Lynx. The two-time Olympic gold medalist announced in February that she was retiring from international competition. She had played for the U.S. National team since 2002, joining Team USA following her sophomore season with the Gophers, and played for two gold medal teams at the World Championships.

The Hutchinson, Minnesota, native finished her career as Minnesota’s all-time points leader, along with being second all-time in assists and third all-time in steals. Whalen led the Gophers to their only Final Four in program history in 2004.

She replaces Marlene Stollings, who left Minnesota after four years to take over the program at Texas Tech.

]]>http://www.kchkradio.net/2018/04/13/ex-gopher-whalen-new-minnesota-womens-basketball-coach/feed/0Don Lucia out as University of Minnesota hockey coachhttp://www.kchkradio.net/2018/03/21/don-lucia-out-as-university-of-minnesota-hockey-coach/
http://www.kchkradio.net/2018/03/21/don-lucia-out-as-university-of-minnesota-hockey-coach/#commentsWed, 21 Mar 2018 15:26:57 +0000chrishttp://www.kchkradio.net/?p=49662MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Longtime Minnesota hockey coach Don Lucia is stepping down after a disappointing year that ended with the Gophers missing the NCAA Tournament.

The university announced Lucia’s departure in a statement Tuesday. Lucia, 59, leaves with a year left on his contract and after saying earlier this week that he hoped to stay. His contract has a $315,000 buyout clause.

Lucia headed the Gophers program for 19 seasons that included back-to-back national titles in 2002 and 2003. But they have made the NCAA Tournament only five times in the past 10 seasons.

Lucia is the Gophers’ career wins leader, with a 457-248-73 record. During his 31-year career as a Division I head coach, Lucia has won 736 career games, eighth all-time in NCAA history.

]]>http://www.kchkradio.net/2018/03/21/don-lucia-out-as-university-of-minnesota-hockey-coach/feed/0Gophers lose in regular season finale 84-60 to Boilermakershttp://www.kchkradio.net/2018/02/26/gophers-lose-in-regular-season-finale-84-60-to-boilermakers/
http://www.kchkradio.net/2018/02/26/gophers-lose-in-regular-season-finale-84-60-to-boilermakers/#commentsMon, 26 Feb 2018 16:30:18 +0000chrishttp://www.kchkradio.net/?p=48981WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — Dakota Mathias matched his career high with 25 points and led No. 9 Purdue to an 84-60 blowout over Minnesota. Carsen Edwards had 18 points as the Boilermakers won their second straight.

Minnesota was led by Nate Mason with 18 points and Jordan Murphy who had 14 points and 10 rebounds.

But the Boilermakers did not get to celebrate Senior Day with a championship celebration Those hopes slipped away when No. 2 Michigan State beat Wisconsin earlier in the day.

Isaiah Moss led Iowa with a career-high 32 points, including 19 in the final two minutes as the Hawkeyes (12-18, 3-14) fought their way back from an early 20-point deficit. Luka Garza added 16 points and Ryan Kriener scored a career-high 15 as the Hawkeyes lost their sixth straight.

Minnesota stormed to a 22-2 lead thanks in large part to an ice-cold start by Iowa. In the Hawkeyes’ first 16 possessions they went 1-for-8 shooting from the floor with no offensive rebounds and eight turnovers.

Meanwhile Mason scored 12 points, the last coming on a three-point play to put the Gophers up by 20 barely eight minutes in.

Then it was Minnesota’s turn for a scoring drought. The Gophers went 7 1/2 minutes without a point as Iowa cobbled together an 11-0 run, thanks to seven points by Garza.

The Gophers finally responded as Murphy hit a baby hook as the shot clock expired to restore Minnesota’s lead to double digits. The junior forward ended the half by slamming home an alley-oop pass from Mason to give Minnesota a 31-19 halftime lead.

Iowa clawed back to as close as two points in the second half as Moss went on a late tear. The sophomore guard’s third 3-pointer made the score 84-82 with three left before Fitzgerald hit two free throws to ice it for Minnesota.

Both teams are assured of a bottom-four finish in the conference standings and could face each other again in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament on Wednesday in New York.

The Spartans (25-3, 13-2) notched their best 28-game record under coach Tom Izzo and pulled within a half-game of first-place Ohio State in the Big Ten despite just five points in 25 minutes from star Miles Bridges.

Nick Ward had 13 points and nine rebounds and Cassius Winston pitched in 12 points for the Spartans, who made their first six 3-point attempts and finished 14 for 22 from behind the arc.

When the Big Ten schedule was finalized over the summer, this game looked like one of the marquee matchups that would help shape the conference race; that was before Minnesota fell apart in early January.

Any long shot the Gophers had of shocking the Spartans was lessened significantly when starters Amir Coffey (shoulder) and Dupree McBrayer (shin) were again held out of the lineup. Coffey has missed 10 of the last 12 games. McBrayer, after playing through the pain for several weeks, sat out for the second straight time.

James Palmer Jr. had 19 points and nine assists for the Huskers (18-8, 9-4 Big Ten), who won for the sixth time in seven games. Anton Gill scored 12 points, while Glynn Watson Jr. and Isaac Copeland each scored 10 for Nebraska.

Nate Mason poured in a career-high 34 points and added six assists for the Golden Gophers (14-12, 3-10), who have lost six in a row. Jordan Murphy scored 22 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, while freshman Isaiah Washington scored 10 points and dished out eight assists.

McIntosh broke the previous mark of 14 set by Patrick Baldwin against Youngstown State on Dec. 5, 1992, and got plenty of hugs on the sideline when he left the game in the closing minute.

Dererk Pardon added 13 points and 12 rebounds to help Northwestern (11-7, 2-3 Big Ten) run away with an easy win after dropping three of four.

Minnesota (13-5, 2-3) struggled on both ends with two of its top players missing and star Jordan Murphyhaving a quiet game. Guard Amir Coffey remained sidelined by a shoulder injury and the Gophers dropped their second straight after winning five in a row.

Dupree McBrayer scored 14 for Minnesota. Murphy finished with eight points and two rebounds after hitting double digits in both categories in each of the first 17 games.

Northwestern went on a big run midway through the first half and took a 43-21 lead to the locker room.

Trailing 13-12, Jordan Ash nailed a 3. McIntosh ignited the sparse crowd with an alley-oop to Pardon, then fed him a no-look pass for a dunk, and just like that the Wildcats were rolling.

Pardon had eight points and eight rebounds in the half. McIntosh had six points and seven assists. Lindsey scored seven and hit two of Northwestern’s six 3′s against a shaky defense.

Minnesota was no better on the other end, shooting 6 of 27 overall and 3 of 13 from long range in the half.

The most impressive play came early in the second when Gavin Skelly missed an easy dunk. He hung onto the rim, reached back with one arm and threw down. The basket didn’t count, of course, and Skelly got a technical for hanging on the rim